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• The Importance of Witnesses in an Ohio Personal Injury Case

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Who's Responsible for Birth Injuries?

Have you been faced with a child that has a birth injury? It is absolutely devastating to realize that your child will have mental and/or physical impairment for rest of his/her life due to medical negligence at the time of birth. The most common birth injuries include Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy and other problems. These birth injuries often occur as a result of improper handling by your doctor or hospital around, during and after the time of birth. The physical, emotional and financial burdens can be overwhelming to your family. If you have experienced a birth injury, you need to contact a Birth injury lawyer to set up a consultation to inquire about your rights and see if you qualify for a Personal injury settlement. The attorneys at Chester Law Group are experienced in Birth injury cases and can guide you through the appropriate legal steps. The Chester Law group can be contacted at (800)218-4243 or you can complete a contact form on their website.

How to Identify Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy and other Birth Injuries

Cerebral palsy is a debilitating injury to the brain before, during or after birthing. This often occurs due to low oxygen levels resulting in neuronal cell death. This can be the result of bad practice on the part of your healthcare provider, midwife or nurse. Early symptoms of Cerebral Palsy and brain damage include:

• Lack of muscle tone where the infant has improper body movements, lack of balance and posture.
• Your infant may have a bluish color or darker than normal color.
• Your infant may have failed to breathe following delivery and/or required some form of respirator to maintain respiratory function.
• Your infant may have experienced seizures within 48 hours of delivery.
• With time, you will see that your child is developing slowly and not developing skills at the normal time such a crawling, walking and talking due to lack of muscle tone.
• There will be problems with eating and swallowing due to lack of muscle tone.
  

On the other hand another form of Palsy is Erb's Palsy. Erb's Palsy is also known as Brachial Plexus Palsy because they have a tear in the nerves that supply the neck and upper chest. This type of palsy results in loss of movement and sensation in the arm, hand and fingers. This Palsy can occur when the fetus's shoulder becomes lodged behind the pubic bone and the appropriate procedures are not applied for proper delivery. Early symptoms of Erb's Palsy include:

• Infant presents with a limp arm.
• Infant has decreased ability to grip on the damaged side

Beyond Cerebral Palsy and Erb's Palsy there are a number of other birth injuries that can occur due to malpractice on the part of the practitioner that include:

• Skull fractures.

• Brain haemorrhage (bleeding) due to broken blood vessels.

There are also birth defects that can occur in the fetus prior to birthing due to chemical exposure such as prescription medications which include but not limited to:

• Facial nerve damage.

• Spina bifida.

• Cleft lip/palate.

• Blindness

• Deformed or missing limbs/organs

• Heart defects

Who is Liable for Birthing Injuries?

If you have experienced any birthing injuries to your infant, you may wonder who is responsible. Is it the physician, hospital or nurse?

Of course the first individual considered will be your doctor who handled the birthing. If your physician failed to meet the standard protocol set by Ohio law he/she may be responsible for any of the injuries his or her carelessness caused. It will be left up to you to prove that the doctor didn't meet standard protocols. It is also possible that the doctor can be held responsible for other care givers present such as interns, nurses or other physicians that were present during delivery if he or she should have caught any mistakes the other medical professionals were making. To put it simply, and avoid legal jargon, the doctor can be found medically negligent if his or her medical care falls below the average medical care provided by similar doctors in the same geographic area. In other words, a medical specialist will have to provide care at least as good as the average medical specialist in the area, or in this case the average OBGYN doctor. More specialized doctors may have to provide do more and know more to meet the average standard of care in their area. After all, specialists have more knowledge, and by definition this special knowledge requires a higher standard of action to meet the standard of care.

Hospitals must follow certain protocols that are similar to other institutions. They are responsible for proper care of their patients in a timely and cleanly manner. Clinics and hospitals are also responsible for their employees including nurses, staff physicians and technicians as well as well as medical equipment.

Nurses can also be held responsible for medical malpractice if they are negligent of duties such as improper monitoring of patients, failure to medicate the patient properly and observe side effects, and failure to report any changes in the patient's condition to the physician.

Projecting Life-time Costs of a Birth Injured Child

Think about what you will have to do to raise a child who has a birth injury. Chances are there is no cure for the injuries your child has sustained so this will be a life-time endeavor. You will need some reasonable compensation to make sure you have the resources to provide proper medical care for your child due to life-long disabilities. A Birth injury attorney can work with you to establish the needs of your child such as projecting costs for ongoing medical expenses including doctors visits, medications and surgeries if needed.. They will determine how much money you need to secure for therapeutic treatments such as physical and psychological. Special education including speech therapies and possible vocational training may be required. You may have to supply artificial limbs, braces or even wheelchairs for your child. It is possible you may need a specialized vehicle that is properly equipped for the handicapped. You may even need to remodel your home for easy access. You need to make sure that all the costs are considered including pain and suffering. You and your child's future depend on it.

If your think that a physician, hospital or nurse was negligent during your delivery that generated a birth injury your family may be entitled to financial compensation for pain and suffering, medical bills and future complications. You should contact a Birth injury attorney as soon as possible. The Chester Law Group is a Personal injury law firm that handles birth injury cases and can guide you through a Personal injury settlement. Your Birth injury lawyer will advise you every step of the way. Call the attorney's at the Chester Law Group today to get the help you want from people that you can trust at (800) 218-4243.

--Susan Ardizzoni Ph.D.

In his new consumer handbook, The Insider's Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims, author and Ohio personal injury lawyer David M. Chester gives consumers a rare look at the injury claim process in Ohio. From his position as an experienced "insider,” Attorney Chester explains in simple, easy to understand language, what consumers must know to protect themselves while walking in the mine field of dealing with insurance companies.

Contact us today for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation about your personal injury legal needs.

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